The Everglades Restaurants

Dining in the Everglades area centers on mom-and-pop places serving hearty home-style food, and small eateries specializing in fresh local fare: alligator, fish, stone crab, frogs' legs, and Florida lobster from the Keys. American Indian restaurants serve local favorites as well as catfish, Indian fry bread (a flour-and-water flatbread), and pumpkin bread. A growing Hispanic population around Homestead means plenty of authentic, inexpensive Latin cuisine, with an emphasis on Cuban and Mexican dishes. Restaurants in Everglades City, especially those along the river, specialize in fresh (often just hours out of the water) seafood including particularly succulent, sustainable stone crab. These mostly rustic places are ultracasual and often close in late summer or fall. For finer dining, head for Marco Island or Naples.

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  • 1. City Seafood

    $$

    Gems from the sea are delivered fresh from the owners' boats to this rustic haven. Enjoy breakfast, lunch, or an early dinner outdoors to watch pelicans, gulls, tarpon, manatees, and the occasional gator play off the dock on the Barron River. Even better, you can chow down on sustainable stone crabs—medium, large, jumbo, and colossal, based on weight—with a clear conscience. After they remove the meaty claws, crabs are returned to the water so they can grow new ones. Brought a cooler with you? City Seafood wraps for the road (and ships, too). Gator and shark-tooth necklaces and cutesy crabby-style tanks, boxers, and tees await in the gift shop.

    702 Begonia St., Everglades City, Florida, 34139, USA
    239-695–4700

    Known For

    • Sustainable stone crab in season
    • Waterfront hangout
    • Wrapping and shipping fresh seafood
  • 2. Coopertown Restaurant

    $$

    Make a pit stop at Coopertown Restaurant for local flavor and delicacies sourced straight from the swamp. This eatery opened in the early 1960s as a sandwich stand, and it has long been a favorite among the famous and the humbly hungry. In addition to catfish and shrimp, house specialties include frogs' legs and alligator tail breaded in cornmeal and deep-fried. Sandwich options include burgers, hot dogs, and grilled cheese. Restrooms are outside. The restaurant is part of Coopertown's The Original Air Boat Tour business that dates back to 1945.

    22700 S.W. 8th St., Miami, Florida, 33194, USA
    305-226–6048

    Known For

    • Catfish and shrimp
    • Fried alligator
    • Old-fashioned charm

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 3. Farmers' Market Restaurant

    $

    This quaint eatery is inside the farmers' market on the edge of town, and it's big on serving fresh vegetables and seafood. A family of anglers runs the place, so fish and shellfish are only hours from the ocean. Catering to farmers, the restaurant opens at 5:30 am serving fluffy pancakes and omelets with home fries or grits in a pleasant dining room. For lunch and dinner, you can choose from fried shrimp or conch, seafood pasta, country-fried steak, and roast turkey, as well as salads, burgers, and sandwiches.

    300 N. Krome Ave., Florida City, Florida, 33034, USA
    305-242–0008

    Known For

    • Early hours for breakfast
    • Seafood-centric menu
    • Using fresh produce from the market
  • 4. HavAnnA Cafe

    $$

    Cuban and Caribbean specialties are a welcome alternative to the typical seafood houses in the Everglades City area. This cheery eatery—3 miles south of Everglades City on Chokoloskee Island—has a dozen or so tables inside and more seating on the porch amid plenty of greenery. Jump-start your day with café con leche and a pressed-egg sandwich, or try a Havana omelet. For lunch, you'll find Cuban sandwiches, burgers, shrimp, grouper, and steak and pork plates. Take some Carlos's HavAnnA Cafe Hot Sauce home with you.

    191 Smallwood Dr., Chokoloskee, Florida, 34138, USA

    Known For

    • Café con leche
    • The Cuban sandwich
    • Charming patio dining

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Apr.–Oct.
  • 5. Rosita's Mexican Restaurant

    $

    This delightful hole-in-the-wall Mexican spot boasts authenticity you can't get at the Tex-Mex chains. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner entrées, served all day, range from Mexican eggs, enchiladas, and taco salad to stewed beef and fried pork chops. Order à la carte specialties or dinners and combos with salad, beans, and rice. The food is spicy, but for extra heat, reach for the fresh salsa, pickled jalapeños, or bottled habanero sauce on tables. Spiffy, with an open kitchen and takeout counter, Rosita's is a favorite among guests staying at nearby hotels.

    199 W. Palm Dr., Homestead, Florida, 33034, USA
    305-246–3114

    Known For

    • Authentic Mexican cuisine
    • A brisk takeout business
    • Breakfast served all day
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  • 6. Royal Palm Grill and Deli

    $

    This popular "breakfast all day, every day" enterprise has two locations, only a few blocks apart, to accommodate a steady stream of customers who come for everything from omelets and pancakes to biscuits and gravy, plus salads, steaks, and seafood.

    806 N. Krome Ave., Homestead, Florida, 33030, USA
    305-246–5701

    Known For

    • Early hours
    • Breakfast all day
    • Retro decor and vibe

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner

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